FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Water Pump Project Opposition Remains

Some residents continue to oppose construction of a water pumping station at Hisamatsu Tamura Elementary School, despite a decision to move the proposed well away from nearby homes. The wells would provide water to Newport Beach.

At a public hearing before the Fountain Valley School District Board of Trustees last week, some residents said the pump station should not be built on school grounds.

“The main concern is locating it on a piece of property used for education purposes,” resident Judi Willhite said. “There are other sites in the district (where) this could be placed.”

Willhite said the pump station could pose safety hazards to children and added that she believes the ground water table should not be disturbed.

Trustees are expected to take action on the proposal at their April 14 meeting. The district is expected to earn $20,000 a year if trustees approve an agreement with Newport Beach to dig the wells, officials said.

At recent meetings, residents living next to the school raised concerns over noise and vibrations, worrying that their property values could decline if the pump station is built. The original proposed site for the wells was at the southwest corner of the school, about 35 feet from three homes.

In a attempt to ease those concerns, district officials now have proposed that the two wells be drilled on the eastern border of the school site, near a church on Magnolia Street.

“I think it appeased some of them, but some people still aren’t going to be happy,” Board of Trustees President Robert Sedlak said of the new location. “They don’t want it there, period.”

Sedlak said he is satisfied that noise and safety concerns have been well-addressed.

Trustee Larry R. Crandall also said the new location is a suitable solution. “I think it’s a more sound decision to go to this place on the school grounds because it is away from residents,” he said.

Greg Keenan, property chairman of the First Baptist Church-Fountain Valley-Huntington Beach, said church officials are not against the proposal.

However, Keenan said, the church would prefer that the pump station be built elsewhere on the school site, because the new location would interfere with plans to expand the church parking lot. He said the church would like to buy a portion of the school property to expand its parking lot.

Keenan also said he has met with Newport Beach officials regarding a proposed easement agreement to provide access to the well site from the church driveway.